Flash win one, lose one for a season tally of 5-5

OREM  The Utah Flash played just two games last week, using a 24-0 third-quarter run to defeat the Anaheim Arsenal and falling 130-126 in double overtime to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, despite guard Gabe Pruitt's 38 points.

Ten games into their 50-game season, the Flash are 5-5. They are tied with the Idaho Stampede for second place in the NBA Development League West Division, two games behind Los Angeles.

"We've had a lot of movement in the roster because of NBA players going up and down," Flash general manager David Fredman said. "That's the nature of the business, but we've probably had more than other teams. Our roster's tried to build some continuity, and we've played pretty well."

UPCOMING GAMES: The Flash will once again have had a full week of practice before hosting the Austin Toros and the Bakersfield Jam on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both matches start at 7 p.m. at the McKay Center on the campus of UVSC in Orem. Utah will face the best and worst team in the D-League this weekend.

This will be their first game against the Toros, who are leading the D-League with a 7-1 record. However, Darius Washington, who was second in the league in scoring with 28.2 points per game, was recently recalled by the San Antonio Spurs.

"They won seven games in a row," Flash coach Brad Jones said. "They run the San Antonio stuff because they're owned by the Spurs, so it will be pretty interesting because we run the Jazz stuff. They're very good."

The Flash have played one game against 2-10 and last-place Bakersfield. In Utah's second home game, guard Michael Cuffee hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1.8 seconds left while he was fouled. He then converted the 4-point play for the 102-99 win.

PLAYER TRANSACTIONS: The Flash had another busy week with their NBA affiliates. Shortly after the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics reassigned center Kyrylo Fesenko and guard Gabe Pruitt, respectively, to the Flash, the parent teams recalled them after just a few games.

D-League rules stipulate that NBA teams may only assign and recall one of their players to their D-League affiliate a maximum of three times during the season.

Because of this rule, Fredman said that he expects Fesenko to be back with the team for a longer assignment in the near future.

The Flash also acquired 7-foot-1-inch, 265-pound center Aristeide Sawadogo, originally from Burkina Foso, Africa. He was originally drafted by the Dakota Wizards and waived after their training camp.

"Hopefully, he'll give us some added size inside," Fredman said. "We've been pretty thin with only James Lang as a true center (with Fesenko gone)."